Job Discussion Forums

[meganleb]

During the current school year I have been working (without official certification) at a boarding school in Switzerland, teaching EFL at the intermediate and advanced levels. Though I have always tutored in various subjects including language, this is my first time teaching an entire class, and I have decided that this is my calling and I want to pursue teaching from here on out.

I have a B.A. in Comparative Literature, which unfortunately means some debt, though not as much as the typical U.S. university graduate - about $9500, with payments of $172 due each month. This year I am here on a student visa and considered a student teacher (despite having my own group of students), and am being paid primarily in room and board. I have been paying the loans out of my savings.

I had been considering going to Asia to teach, as I know the money would be better and I could easily keep up with my loan payments. However, as I've been looking at the possibilities, I'm starting to think that I might be able to squeak by if I live simply enough in the Czech Republic. I do have a few thousand dollars of savings left if I need to fall back on it, and the option to defer my loans for up to a year due to economic hardship.

My plan is to go to Prague, get my TEFL certification (I am leaning toward the Language House for this), and get a job somewhere in the Czech Republic, but not in Prague if I can manage it. The school where I am working now is in a tiny mountain village, and I am used to living extremely simply - basic home-cooked food, almost never going out for movies, meals or drinks not only due to the cost but due to the distance I'd have to travel to do it. Being used to this lifestyle, I wonder if, foregoing such pastimes, I could keep up with my student loan payments without having to dip too far into my savings.

My question is, is this realistic thinking? Can I pull this off, or am I going to have to either spend all my savings, borrow more money, or defer my loans in order to keep from bankruptcy? I am really happy living in Europe and while I'd like to spend some time in Asia at some point, I'd rather be in a more comfortable, familiar setting (with familiar food!) to get the hang of full-time teaching before needing to adjust to a drastically different culture. It would also be nice to be within easy travel distance to my friends here in Switzerland, even if I don't have the money to visit very often.

[spiral78]

Well, $175 is (today) almost 3,500 CZK. That's honestly a lot to squeeze out of a monthly salary, unless you really are prepared to live a VERY quiet life!

Average salaries in Prague range something like 18-24,000 monthly. Smaller towns and cities normally pay less, but housing may also cost less. A decent flat rental in Prague is usually going to cost 8,000+.

In 'my' small town near Ceske Budejovice, a similar flat would be around 5,000. Ceske Budejovice is big enough to support a fair number of teachers, and you could probably do even better by choosing a nearby small town and commuting into the city daily by train or bus. Hluboka is beautiful, but rents are relatively high because of that...

The short answer is that you MIGHT be able to make this work.

I'd go for some form of the strategy above: locate work in a decent-sized city, probably Plzen, CB, or Brno, and then find a decent flat (with help from school, ideally) within a reasonable commuting distance.

Remember that living in a small town will necessitate some functional level of Czech - none of the service staff in shops, restaurants, supermarkets, post office, or bank in 'my' little town speak any English at all!!

Remember that you will have start-up costs that will most likely eat considerably into your savings: landlords will typically want one month's rent as security, and the first month up front. You may have to pay an agent's fee equivalent to a month's rent. Schools generally pay monthly, at the end of the month taught....

Normal contract period is Sept - June. If you plan to send off some letters now, hopefully line up interviews for late August/early Sept, you could expect paycheck number one end Sept or end Oct.

You might also try googling Karlovy Vary - there is not a big expat community there (or wasn't a few years back, am not entirely sure now) and the local state school used to sponsor a native speaker or two yearly and provided (lousy) housing.

[ITTP]

[meganleb]

Thanks for the tips! If Karlovy Vary has a lot of German-speakers then I'd be all set. I understand fluent and speak somewhat fluent German. I'm going to spend part of my spring vacation in the Czech Republic and while I'm there I'm going to check out the Caledonian school and Language House - maybe I'll take a day and have a look at Karlovy Vary as well. Would I be able to get by on just German? I don't speak any Czech yet, though I'll learn some while I'm getting my TEFL certification.

As for the provided housing being lousy, I currently share a tiny room with a hyperactive, party-animal teenager which is directly over the dining hall for the entire school, and there is no sound insulation whatsoever in the building. Is the housing likely to be infested with fleas and cockroaches (to which I am allergic)? If not, I think I'd be excited just to have my own space for the first time in years...

[spiral78]

It'll be clean. Czechs frown on wearing outdoor shoes inside, and are generally quite clean and tidy (and maybe relatively quiet, based on what you describe you're currently living with!). No fleas or cockroaches likely

In Karlovy Vary, more Russian is spoken than German, though you may find some German speakers. The cities I've mentioned further to the east will really likely require some Czech, though...German's not so commonly spoken far from the border with Germany.

[Chris Westergaard]

Dear Megan,


Everyone has been right about this. If you have to pay student loans, teaching in Prague will be hard. It would be great if you could take the course with us, but you probably won't be able to really save anything teaching here.

[meganleb]

Well that sounds just fine. I have forgotten almost all of my Russian, but I have every intention of learning Czech regardless of where I teach. If I live in an area where I am forced to use it every day, it will be that much easier!

At the moment I'm looking at the Language House as my top choice for TEFL certification. I emailed them asking if I could take a look at the school while I'm in Prague and I received a yes within minutes! Even through email conversation they sound very personable and professional. Anyone have any thoughts on this place? Are they likely to be helpful in getting a position somewhere like in Karlovy Vary?

[spiral78]

Language House has been around a while and has a solid reputation in general.

Any of the training centres in Prague should be able to put you in touch with the directors of reputable schools in the country. None of them will 'get you a position,' though - what they can reasonably do is get you in touch with directors, and help you set up interviews. You'll still need to plan to go through intervew processes, which may include demo lessons as well.

One great value in getting certified in-country is that the training centre should be able to give information about reputable employers in the region. While they may not know every school and its director (there are hundreds of schools in the CR), they will be able to tell you what terms and conditions are above board and indicate a decent employer.

Another useful resource, you'll find, are previous grads of a training course. In most cases, some will still be in touch with the centre and interested in socializing with current trainees.

[meganleb]

Ha, looks like Chris posted while I was writing my last post. And just after that I got another email from him! Really, thanks for staying in touch with me so well, Chris, I do appreciate it.

Thanks also to everyone for the advice. Certainly I don't expect any school to "get me a job," but naturally I'll be interested in any help I can get.

I think I'm going to stick with the Czech Republic for this year. If I need to borrow money from a relative or defer my loans for a year, so be it. I'm really very happy with the feeling of being able to stay in Europe. I can always move to Asia the year after if it seems like a good idea then.

[Arab Strap]

There's always working in a high school (Gymnazium) as a conversation teacher.

That's how I got my start, admittedly the pay is pretty low but regular, accommodation is often provided, along with insurance etc.

I had friends working in Hranice, Bruntal, Lipnik and lots of other small towns and villages across the country. They weren't making much money, some of them were staying with families, but they had a real Czech experience you'll never get in Prague and picked up a bit of Czech on the way.

But then again I did this in Ostrava and Brno about 15 years ago so maybe the system has changed now.

Can anyone on the ground chip in on this one?